Has anyone used a backup battery to “charge” or “power” Rachel Plus? Something that plugs directly into the Rachel and is not an AC or Solar source? If so, what type / spec is acceptable? We will not have AC power available (either 240 or 110 vac) when operating in the field. Thanks

I recommend looking into a solar generator they are basically just large backup batteries with a built in inverter/DC out it’s a more expensive and heavier but it has more versatility. This is the tiny one and you can charge it with solar panels/wall outlet. They have DC out as well so you never have to use the inverter to save power.

Any 12V DC source with a 2 Amps Plug will work - i.e. a 12V Gel battery or a 12V LiFePo battery can support the Server when on the road. The batter capacity (size and weight) depends how long you will be in an Off Grid Environment. If you need a renewable power source it will help to use a 12V DC Solar Panel and a battery charging unit.

The information on the nowlight states that the external power connector provides 5V 2A USB out. Will this be sufficient and compatible with Rachel Plus? Additionally, the “nowlight Kit” comes with a solar panel that outputs 3W (I do not not voltage of amps). Could this panel be plugges directly into the Rachel Plus connection and charge it efficiently / without hazard?

Your help in assessing the functionality of this system to charge Rachel Plus would be truly appreciated.

It looks like a 3 W solar panel could put out 6 or 12 or 18 volts. Does it need to put out the 2 A in order to be plugged directly into the Rachel Plug power port? Without 2 A would it potentially cause damage or just a greatly reduced charging speed / extended charging time?

I have used the raspberry pi with a smart-phone power bank 20Ah (20000mAhrs) to power the Pi which lasts for more than a day. You have to shut it down properly from the admin page and recharge the power bank overnight, I have also used a 12v to 5v converter from ebay and a leisure battery. If you have a solar panel of at least 80 watts you can keep the pi going forever ( some degree of licience there)

Hi everyone, just to clarify, the informatin in this thread is only about RACHEL-Plus. @giakonda – has also provided some feedback for powering the Pi, but I don’t want to confuse folks too much. The RACHEL-Plus requires 12V / 2A power, the Pi requires 5V / 3A power, so very different set-ups.

As @giakonda points out, a powerbank can be a good solution for powering the pi when the shutdown is controlled.

For the plus, I have only seen a small handful of 12V powerbanks, which I have linked to earlier in this thread.